Cape to Cabo

We made it to the tropics when we crossed the Tropic of Cancer at 23°26’22” and continued south to Cabo San Lucas. With our arrival in Cabo, we made it from our northwestern-most point at Cape Scott on Vancouver Island to our southern-most point at the southern tip of Baja California. The tropics are fantastic. We’re finally sailing barefoot and in shorts and t-shirts! We’ll cross north of the Tropic of Cancer in the coming weeks as we make our way through the islands of the Sea of Cortez. The Sea is well-known for warmer water than the Pacific side, so even though we’ll depart the tropics, we’ll likely maintain this weather. It’s good to be here. Our 2-week journey from Ensenada to the tropics has included multiple overnight passages and excellent sailing conditions.

Leg 1: Ensenada to Bahia Tortuga (322.2 nautical miles, 3 days)

For the first and longest of our passages, we departed Ensenada in the afternoon based on wind forecast and timing our arrival in Bahia Tortugas to occur before sunset 2 days later. We started out motoring, as expected due to the forecast, and then shifted to motorsailing as the wind slowly picked up. As the wind speed increased to 10+ knots, we turned off the engine and sailed. The conditions were excellent, and then they got a little…sporty. The wind speed picked up to 27 knots at times, though mostly in the low 20s. As the wind picked up, so did the seas. Wave height was up to 10 feet at times. We were getting pushed around by the large swell, but Surface Interval handled it all beautifully, even though we were tense about the uncomfortable conditions. We often sailed with only the mainsail with a single reef, surfing down waves at 10+ knots. Using only the main allowed us to point more directly downwind and made changing course and jibing much easier in the heavier seas.

The entire way down the coast we were treated to a full or nearly full moon. The moon would light up the night skies providing excellent visibility for us and other mariners. It truly was magical. It also lit up the inky black seas lapping up all around us as we cruised through the crashing waves in the middle of the night. The morning of the third day, we arrived at the Benito Islands where we had hoped to make a couple days’ stop for some diving. These remote islands had a small fishing village and reports of great diving spots, but the anchorage swell, huge kelp beds, and wind forecast dictated otherwise. Plus the several hundred sea lions in the anchorage (some that were chasing our boat) made the diving prospect a bit unnerving. We waved at the local fishing panga crossing paths with us as we turned the boat back south.

Later that day, the last 20 nautical miles had wind speeds dropping to the mid-teens, and we realized we might not make it before sunset. We shook out the reef and unfurled the jib to increase our speed and were forced to into some jibes to make the most of the free wind. We dropped anchor in Bahia Tortuga just before the sun slipped below the mountains, a beautiful and very protected anchorage.

Bahia Tortuga: This anchorage is well known amongst the ocean travelers heading down the Baja Pacific coast, as it is approximately halfway between Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas. It’s also a fantastic anchorage due to how well it is protected from any ocean swell. The town is mostly a local fishing town, though we were surprised by how big it actually was. We took the dingy into town to explore a bit, had a beer at the ‘Beach Bar’ and chatted with the very friendly proprietor. We ate a great dinner at a nearby restaurant. We also scoped out parts of the bay via dinghy for potential dive opportunities, but it was very shallow and murky (and surprisingly cold).

Leg 2: Bahia Tortuga to Isla de Asuncion (59.5 nautical miles, 1 day)

We wanted to find a dive spot on our way down the coast, but given the generally rough conditions on the Pacific side we had not found one yet. Looking at charts and cruising resources, we decided to give Isla de Asuncion a shot. We planned our departure around the wind and sunset, as usual. We found ourselves with another fantastic day of sailing. Wind speeds were in the high teens all day. This time the seas had built a little more and we saw waves up to 12 feet. It’s a little nerve-racking to see that big wall of water coming for us, but again our boat handled it all beautifully. Surfing down the waves we hit speeds of over 10 knots!

We dropped the hook about an hour before sunset and took in the beauty of the place. On the windswept dusty island there were hundreds of sea lions sitting atop the cliffs and pelicans circling above looking for fish in the water. It was nice to be back in such a natural place, with the anchorage to ourselves. A few miles away we could see the buildings of the small town of Asuncion as well as the anchor lights of a handful of boats bobbing in the evening light. We also had a late night visitor fly onto our deck, and we helped it back home. While we had hoped to dive there, the sea state and the abundance of curious sea lions made us wary of jumping in for a long surface swim without a chase boat. Ultimately we decided to skip the dive and continue to focus on sailing. Check out the video of how the sea lions perched on the island make their orderly way single-file back into the ocean!

Leg 3: Isla de Asuncion to Bahia de Magdalena (242.8 nautical miles, 2 days)

This was a long trek, starting at 3:45am to once again ensure an arrival before sunset to our planned next anchorage. Wind speeds ranged from high teens to the mid-20s, making for more fast sailing down the coast. In our vessel logbook we used terms like “rolly,” “intense,” and “rowdy” to describe the sea state. Again sailing in these conditions at night was tense as you are constantly keeping an eye on the boat for unusual sounds (things loosening up or breaking), weather conditions changing (warranting sail plan changes, especially if the wind continues to increase), and potential objects in our path that we need to avoid. Our downwind sail came to an end as we turned east and then north into the Bahia de Magdalena. Our planned anchorage was at the small fishing village of Puerto Magdalena, in an area also known as Man of War Cove. As we headed north we found ourselves sailing upwind for the first time in a while. We tacked a few times, and eventually due to the ever-impending sunset, we ultimately motored the last few nautical miles.

Puerto Magdalena: We spent a few days here relaxing and checking out the area, as it was another well protected anchorage with a small fishing village. In summer months we believe it to be a vacation spot for some as there were couple groups of nice looking glamping sites. We took the dingy to checkout the nearby mangroves, where we saw lots of fish and bird wildlife. On the dinghy ride over, the water was crystal clear and we were able to see lots of juvenile stingrays in the shallows at the mouth of the estuary. The mangrove estuary was very beautiful with the desert mountain background. We explored around the small town, and had lunch at the Chejos Restaurant. Lobster season had just opened, so we had to try the lobster tail. Amazingly fresh, super delicious, and cheap (3 for $25) lobster tails with all the taco fixings were on the verbal menu. Later in Cabo San Lucas we would see 1 lobster tail dinners for $50+. Catching crustaceans is prohibited for foreigners, though Mexicans are allowed to fish for crustaceans in their waters.

Leg 4: Bahia de Magdalena to Cabo San Lucas (179.5 nautical miles, 2 days)

Departing Bahia de Magdalena we were surrounded by a dense fog so we relied heavily on our radar and AIS to monitor nearby boat traffic. The strong winds that brought us down the coast had died down by this point. We spent most of the final leg motoring or motorsailing, though we did have a calm afternoon sail on the first day when the wind picked up just enough to fill the sails. We had the excitement of catching our first two fish (Bonito) with our hand line fishing gear. We enjoyed fish tacos for lunch, and grilled fish the next day for dinner. Ocean to table in less than 1 hour! We saw 5 loggerhead turtles on our way south, and were treated to bright bio-luminescence in the water at night. We crossed the Tropic of Cancer at 3:30am and Kris celebrated (solo) during her watch. We arrived in Cabo San Lucas around 2 in the afternoon, greeted by all the energy and insanity of the anchorage filled with jet skis and power boats pulling inflatable rafts packed with tourists. It’s an intense, overwhelming place to pull into after the small towns and peaceful anchorages of the past few weeks. But we can refuel with diesel and provision for the next leg as we make our way north into the Sea of Cortez. Plus a few drinks on shore and a little bit of karaoke…

Next Stops: Los Frailes, Bahia de los Muertos, Isla Espiritu, and La Paz